On a big weekend of college football in 2010, The Associated Press found fans… who said they are making concessions yet determined to indulge their passion. "We basically let the wife and children not eat for a week so we can do this," joked Neil Plotkin, who was attending his first Penn State game. If Neil's marginal rate of substitution between weeks of food and his first Penn State game is 1, what do you predict the marginal rate of substitution between food and subsequent Penn State games is for Neil?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that Neil is joking about not feeding his family for a week to attend his first game suggests that he values attending the game more than multiple weeks of food. This implies a high marginal rate of substitution initially. However, it is likely that subsequent Penn State games will not be valued as highly, and therefore the marginal rate of substitution between food and subsequent games is expected to be lower, i.e. less than one.

On a Big Weekend of College Football in 2010, the Associated